It’s All About Faith

Preparing For Marriage Special Edition

Mr. A comes home late after a long meeting at work; he was unable to inform Mrs. A about this unexpected schedule due to his dead phone and the saturated agenda. Mrs. A storms at her husband and accuses him of cheating. She is convinced that only a woman must have kept Mr. A away from his home. Mr. & Mrs. B have a joint bank account together; Mr. B unceasingly questions Mrs. B about her activities; he wants to know the why, what and how of every expense and withdrawal she makes.

You’ll agree with me that among the attitudes characterizing Mrs. A and Mr. B mistrust would definitely be one of them. Both of these individuals lack trust in their partners that’s why they go on nagging them. If they continue on in this manner, their marriage will definitely suffer in the long run. Every relation (friendship, marriage, or business partnership) must be based on trust, the faith or assurance in a person’s character; without it a relation cannot stand.

The same law applies to our relationship with the Lord Jesus; He is the bridegroom and we the bride. He already has faith in us, so the work of trusting comes from our end. How many times when faced with challenging and unpleasant situations have we not blamed God and questioned Him? How many times have we not complained to Him, expressed discontent, fallen into depression/worry, or even been discouraged? It’s easy for us to clearly spot the flaws of Mrs. A and Mr. B, when in reality we behave the exact way due to lack faith in our Lord. If mistrust can kill a marriage in the long run, so can it also affect our Christianity; no wonder some of us live shallow Christian lives. We are circumstantially joyful and continue to be defeated by sin.

When it comes to waiting for our God-given husbands it’s all about faith ladies. Our Heavenly Father obviously has plans that differ from ours. The only thing we can do is to have faith in Him knowing that He has our best interest in mind even if current conditions prove otherwise. Abraham is called the father of faith because he demonstrated trust in the Lord amidst the oddest situations.

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous-Romans 4:18-22

Marriage is a gift from God and if the Lord has destined us for this purpose He will surely accomplish His promise, we need only to have the faith of Abraham. From what we read in Romans 4, Abraham still believed that God could perform a miracle even though he was almost 100 years old and his wife had way experienced menopause. Abraham “was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises.” Circumstances and people will pressure us to quit waiting and go out there to grab our husbands by our own might. When this same Abraham made the mistake to conceive a child by his own power, the regretful consequence was Ishmael, the ancestor of the Muslim people. I’m sure each of us can testify of the unhappy and broken marriages we’ve seen around us as a result of people wanting to do it their way. “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by His faith” Habakkuk 2:4.The proud think they are smarter than God and get ahead of Him, but what they gain at the end is fruitless. The wise live and walk by faith and it’s counted to them as righteous. Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus instead of the marriage issue in order to have renewed strength. “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” Isaiah 40:31. No relationship can survive without trust, including our relationship with our Lord Jesus. It’s all about having faith that the husband will come one day despite the odds.